Attend one of NYC, by way of Vancouver, singer-songwriter Stef Lang’s shows and you’ll notice she doesn’t just move the crowd, she makes them a part of the action.

Creating an atmosphere where she fosters a rapport with her audience, Lang, whose music blurs the line between pop and R&B, engages in storytelling in-between songs, asks questions of the crowd, and shouts out longtime fans in attendance.

Lang’s highly personable performances, as well as her multi-genre style, which features personal, yet universal, lyrics, have paved the way for her to open for a diverse set of artists, including Fefe Dobson, K’naan, Simple Plan, and Sum 41.

Four full length albums, and five EPs, deep, with a sixth EP, Arrows Pt. 2, due out this summer, Lang’s music has been featured on television shows such as Degrassi, Vanderpump Rules, The L.A. Complex, and Rookie Blue. She’s also earned a number of impressive accolades, including reaching the top five on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart, being nominated for multiple Canadian Radio Music Awards, and having a featured appearance on EDM artist Kaskade’s 2013 Grammy nominated album Atmosphere.

With an appearance on a Grammy nominated album in hand, 2013 was also the year Lang made the decision to move from her native Vancouver to New York City.

Once in NYC, Lang, who is of Filipino and German descent, saw her hustle continue to be rewarded, as she found plenty of work writing for other artists, released two EPs – Rubix (2014), Arrows Pt. 1 (2015) – and developed a following throughout the city thanks to her consistent gigging at some of NYC’s most famed venues for indie music, including The Bitter End, and Rockwood Music Hall. By the end of 2015, local blogs were happy to claim her as the city’s own, naming her an “Artist to Watch.”

In addition to her music, Lang is an advocate for mental health care, having suffered from depression at the age of 18. She refers to a six months period during that year of her life as “a total write off.” In an effort to help others get through such situations, Lang has toured high schools in Canada to raise awareness against bullying, giving performances to help students with depression and anxiety, while also spending time with individual students who may potentially be suicidal.

This past year Lang began work on launching a YouTube series on mental health, and she’s currently working on a project with a mental health charity.

The summer of 2016 should prove to be a busy time for Lang, as she’s readying the release of Arrows Pt. 2, which, just like Arrows Pt. 1, is entirely self-written, recorded, and produced, and she’s booking shows throughout the NYC area.

If history is any indicator, Arrows Pt. 2 will hit the bull’s-eye, and continue Stef Lang’s tradition of piercing the preconceived notions of what it means to be a singer-songwriter.